


A Turian's Love

by xxMrThorne729xx



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2015-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-12 05:23:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1182417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxMrThorne729xx/pseuds/xxMrThorne729xx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Garrus Vakarian struggles with the Reaper threat, he also has to come to terms with his infatuation with one Commander Ruby Shepard.  Chapter 1</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Garrus Vakarian walked into the Citadel Security Services and sat at his desk. The turian had just come from Executor Pallin's office with his report on suspended Officer Thomas Harkin. His report recommended that the suspension become permanent. Harkin had accumulated many complaints in his short tenure with C-Sec. Reports of drinking on duty, accepting bribes, roughing up suspects, abuse of power, racism, and being an all around ass. Not humanity's best representative. 

Harkin was the first human to be accepted into C-Sec. He was pushed through fast and was not vetted very well. After these complaints came across his desk, Garrus looked into his service records with the Alliance Navy. Surprise, surprise, the same type of complaints there.

Garrus was thinking how the Alliance screwed up tapping this guy for C-Sec when his terminal pinged. A C-Sec wide alert came across the screen.

“SPECTRE Nihlus Kryik Killed in Failed Mission on Human Colony Eden Prime.”

Titans of Palaven! No! Garrus stared at the screen in disbelief. He and Nihlus had grown up together in the same colony on their homeworld of Palaven. Nihlus had been a bit of a rebel and got into trouble a lot. Garrus, on a mission to change the world, befriended Nihlus and they had been inseparable throughout their military training. Both he and Nihlus wanted to become SPECTREs, but Garrus's father blocked his candidacy. He supported Nihlus's bid and was thrilled when his friend was granted SPECTRE status. 

It was then that Nihlus met Saren Arterius. Saren mentored Nihlus in the ways of the SPECTREs. Garrus hated him from the start. Saren was cold and ruthless. He was condescending to Garrus and treated him like a pathetic lapdog when he was around. Saren's influence drove a wedge between Garrus and Nihlus. Garrus went into C-Sec, using his tech skills and natural curiosity to become one of the best investigators in the force. He and Nihlus kept in touch but were not as close as they once were.

Garrus read through the news piece and was shocked to hear that the Geth were on Eden Prime. The Geth hadn't been seen in over 200 years, ever since they drove the Quarians off Rannoch. A human Alliance commander Ruby Shepard was on the same mission. She was reported as saying that Nihlus was murdered by a rogue SPECTRE, not killed by enemy fire from the Geth. Another shock was that this rogue SPECTRE was Saren Arterius.

“What the hell were you doing there, Arterius?” Garrus wondered out loud.

“That's what you are going to find out, Vakarian.” boomed Executor Pallin. “We need to know if these allegations are true. Find out everything you can about the connection between Kryik and Arterius. And find everything on this Commander Shepard. Her background, family, service records, ex-lovers, everything. Figure out if she's some nut job or just your typical hot headed flesh-bag.”

“Sir, why are we concentrating on Shepard?” Garrus asked. “Why not go where the evidence leads us?”

“Vakarian, do what you're told. Investigate this the way C-Sec dictates. No going off the reservation on this one, Garrus. I mean it.” Pallin shouted as he stomped back to his office.

Garrus nervously clicked his mandibles and rubbed his crest horns. “Why did I even get out of bed this morning?”

“Dammit! Access Denied?? Again??”

Garrus had spent hours looking at Saren's service records and ran into more red tape than the Volus financial district. Time was running out. The Alliance ambassador's meeting with the Citadel Council was in three hours. 

Shepard's military records were pretty cut and dry. Military “brat” as the humans say, lived from ship to ship, outpost to outpost following her parents through their military career. Enlisted as soon as she was able, stellar record, received many commendations. A war hero, almost single-handedly fought off an entire army of Batarian slavers on Elysium. Now serving as the XO on the Alliance vessel SSV Normandy. No sign of grand standing or the usual backstabbing for power you would find in a “hot headed flesh-bag” as Pallin would put it.

Now her personal records were a different story. Not much there. Besides her upbringing, her personal life was minimal. Reportedly she did not socialize with her shipmates very often at all. The times that she did, the story was that she cannot dance. Weird thing to be known for, but there it was. One hot and heavy love affair with a serviceman named Vega, that ended years ago. And a brother, Jeff Moreau, who also happened to be the pilot of the Normandy. Other than those tidbits, again nothing to suggest that she would be lying about Saren.

Garrus knew why Pallin wanted him to look so heavily into Shepard. He didn't trust humans. Ever since the First Contact War, there was a lot of mistrust between humans and turians. What he didn't understand was why Pallin wanted him to completely dismiss Saren's possible involvement. Despite what he said, Garrus did “go off the reservation” and started looking for anything that would suggest Saren working with the Geth. But every time he came close to maybe finding something, he was blocked from the information. It was as if someone didn't want Garrus to get any information, which he suspected was the case.

After beating the hell out of his screen for the hundredth time, Garrus looked at the time. “SHIT!” The meeting was scheduled to start in thirty minutes. He would barely have enough time to get to the Tower and present his findings to the Executor. He wished he had more time to expand his investigation into Saren. Maybe he could convince Pallin to...hell, it wasn't going to work. But he had to try.

Garrus ran out of the lift as soon as the doors opened and almost knocked Pallin down.

“Vakarian! What the hell?”

“Sorry sir, I thought I would have been late for the hearing.”

“Almost, but what did you find on Shepard?”

“Um, nothing, sir. Shepard's clean. Saren, however...”

“Nothing? You found nothing? I told you to dig into everything.”

“I did sir, there's nothing in her records that seemed suspicious. Saren on the other hand, his records are sealed and I can't get access to them.”

Pallin scoffed, “Of course you can't. He's a SPECTRE.”

“Saren's hiding something. Give me more time. Stall them.”

“Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus.” Grabbing his report and walking away, Pallin dismissively waved Garrus off.

“Damn him, that stubborn son of a...” Garrus thought as he turned and saw her.

He was momentarily struck by her presence, then regained his composure.

“Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren.”

“Sounds like you really want to bring him down.”

“I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he's a SPECTRE, everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence.”

“I think the Council is ready for us, Commander.” The soldier standing behind Shepard said. This must be Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, according to the reports of the Eden Prime incident. 

“Good Luck, Shepard. Maybe they'll listen to you.” Garrus said as the three humans walked away.

Garrus watched as Shepard walked away. He had watched the vids and seen the pictures, but seeing her in person was different. There was an aura about her. A larger than life quality to her. Her entire being screamed warrior. He had never really been attracted to humans, but this one was... Hell, he didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the red hair. Maybe it was the way the armor hugged her curves. Or maybe it was the scar above her eye and the way it cut into that thin line of hair there.

“Pull yourself together, Vakarian.” Garrus admonished himself. He couldn't be thinking about this. Not when the Galaxy was on the verge of war, again. The Geth returning was a major concern. Especially if Saren had turned rogue and was working with them. Besides he was horrible with women. He hadn't had a relationship since Nyreen left him to go to Omega.

Garrus turned and watched Shepard ascend the stairs to meet with the Council. He shook his head and muttered to himself.

“Dammit. What's wrong with me?”


	2. Chapter 2

Garrus stood at the back of the room watching the proceedings. As was expected, the Council wasn't really taking the accusations seriously. The Council did have the reputation of diminishing the problems of the humans. Claiming it was their own fault for establishing colonies in the Traverse, so close to the Terminus Systems. Not only that, their best best agent was being accused of treason. The Council relied heavily on the SPECTREs. Probably too much thought Garrus. And they especially relied on Saren. Also watching the proceedings via hologram was Saren himself.

“That bastard. He killed Nihlus, I know it.” He thought. Garrus looked up at the visage of the man with hatred and disgust. Not only did he murder his friend but he was a traitor to the Council, but to the Turians as well. He was contemplating the many ways he wanted to torture and kill Saren, when Saren left.

“What? He just left? In the middle of a hearing?” Garrus whispered. He focused then on Shepard and noticed just how how much she was holding in. Her fists clenched, nostrils flaring. She looked like she was about to explode. It was not hard to see why. 

The hearing was not going well. The Council was dismissive. Saren leaving, insulting and humiliating the humans. Ambassador Udina spouting his usual “Humanity First” bullshit. 

“I've got to find something to help her. There must be something I'm missing.” he thought. “The Shadow Broker!” Garrus exclaimed a little too loud. People standing around him looked up and stared. 

The Volus financial adviser, Barla Von? No, Garrus couldn't afford his type of information. Fist, the owner of Chora's Den? No, rumors were that a Krogan bounty hunter was after him and Garrus didn't want to get in that beast's way. Dr. Michel, yes! Chloe had a clinic in the Wards and overheard lots of information that she normally wouldn't. Garrus turned to get on the lift and just missed the fist flying towards his face. 

“You bird-faced son of a bitch! You got me fucking fired.” The stench of alcohol on Harkin's breath told Garrus how he was able to easily side step the punch and push him away.

“You got yourself fired, Tom.”

“Fuck you, Vakarian. I'll get you for this I swear.” Harkin slurred.

“Go home Harkin. Go home, sober up and take a shower. You stink and you're making me sick.”

Garrus walked away, while Harkin was still throwing threats and insults at his back. He entered the lift and made his way to Dr. Michel's clinic. He thoughts turned to Shepard. There was no denying that she was gorgeous. Everybody could see it. She walked into the room and everybody stopped to look at her. To look at her flaming red hair, her eyes that glowed blue like eezo. Her ample womanly curves were entrancing. But he never understood why the humans made their armor to form around the female's breasts. It just seemed uncomfortable and actually could be pretty painful in a firefight. But it wasn't just her looks. Her being, her aura was powerful. She walked into the room, any room and owned it completely. He just had to get closer to her. He didn't know how, but he would figure something out.

He approached the door to the clinic and stopped. He heard voices inside, loud angry voices. He entered his override code into the panel for the door and it opened silently. Several of Fist's thugs were there threatening Dr. Michel. Garrus crouched down and pulled his sidearm. He crawled to the counter, unseen, waiting for an opportunity to take the thugs down. Then the door opened and there she was.

Fist's men saw her and panicked. There it was, his shot. Garrus stood up, whipped around the corner and fired. The man who held Chloe fell, dead before he hit the ground. All hell broke loose after that. Chloe dove behind a crate. Garrus ducked behind cover and continued to fire at the remaining men. Shepard let loose with biotic charge that blasted into the men and tore them apart. It was over in less than a minute.

“Wow, she's a biotic. That wasn't in her profile. And she's powerful, not the most powerful I've seen, but pretty damned close.” Garrus starred at her in awe.

“Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard.”

“What were you thinking? You could've hit the hostage!”

“There wasn't time to think. I just reacted. I didn't mean to...Dr. Michel, are you alright?” Garrus guiltily asked.

“No, I'm okay. Thanks to you, all of you.”

He looked on as Shepard questioned Dr. Michel. Chloe spoke of a quarian patient who wanted to see the Shadow Broker. She said that she sent her to see Fist, who she thought was an agent for the him. But Chloe didn't know that Fist had betrayed the Shadow Broker was working for Saren now. Shepard started to leave to go after Fist.

“Shepard, wait. This is your show, but I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you.”

“You're a turian. Why do you want to bring him down.”

“I couldn't find the proof I needed for my investigation. But I knew what was really going on. Saren is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people.

“Welcome aboard Garrus.”

“You know we aren't the only ones going after Fist. A krogan bounty hunter named Wrex was hired to take him out. I'd rather have him with us than us getting in his way. We'll find him at the C-Sec offices.”

“Lead the way.”

They made their way to C-Sec in silence. Garrus felt like he was going through puberty again. He was awkward and nervous. The object of his infatuation was five feet from him and he couldn't think of a thing to say. They finally reached C-Sec and Garrus was relieved. Now Shepard could deal with Wrex and get to what Garrus did best. Interrogate and shoot criminals. Wrex and Shepard talked for a bit and finally Wrex agreed to join us.   
“Thank you, Gods.” he thought. Wrex agreeing to join would make this a hell of a lot easier. They made their their way to Chora's Den and was ambushed by at least a dozen of Fist's men. Having both Shepard and Wrex's biotic powers made the battle easier than it should have been. They cut through Fist's forces with ease and made it to Fist's office. Being the coward that Garrus knew him to be, Fist surrendered quickly.

Fist gave up the information they were after. He had sent the quarian into a trap and was surely going to be killed if they didn't find her, fast. They were just about to leave when Wrex pulled his shotgun and murdered Fist.

“Dammit Wrex, what the hell are you dong?” Shepard growled.

“I got paid to do a job. Don't like leaving it half done.”

“I don't work like that. You want to ride with me, you better get that straight.”

“Sure thing, Commander.” Wrex said sarcastically.

Inwardly, Garrus smiled. He liked this krogan. Plus he was glad that someone took the heat of his mistake in the clinic off of him. But there wasn't time to gloat, they had to find the quarian.

“Come on, Shepard, we need to go.”

They headed out of Fist's office and again ran into more of Fist's men.

“Dammit, where do they all come from? Do guys like Fist have a hotline? Dial-a-scumbag?” Garrus quipped.

Shepard laughed as she took out three guys with one biotic charge. Once again the thugs went down easily and they quickly ran to the alleyway that Fist sent the quarian to.

They found her just in time as the assassins had her cornered. The fight was a little tougher as these were highly trained assassins and not rental thugs. When the last attacker fell, Shepard made her way to the quarian. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya was an energetic little thing, good in a fight and scared out of her mind but eager to help Shepard, as everybody was when they met her. She said she had audio logs from a destroyed Geth that proved Saren was behind the attack on Eden Prime.

“Yes, finally. I can take that son of a bitch down.” Garrus thought. He had waited a long time for this moment. They were in the Human Ambassador's office when Tali played the logs.

“Eden Prime was a major victory.” Saren's voice echoed out of Tali's omni-tool. Garrus cringed when he heard it. “The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit.”

The Conduit? Garrus had never heard of it, but if Saren wanted it, it had to be bad. He would pay for betraying the Council and the turians. But there was more, Tali played the rest of the log.

“And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.” This voice was unknown. 

Reapers? The old legend? Gods, this was not good at all. Reapers were supposedly the beings that destroyed the Protheans 50,000 years ago. And Saren wanted to bring them back? They needed to take this to the Council and get started on bringing Saren down.


	3. A Turian's Love Ch. 3

They were back in Citadel Tower presenting the voice logs to the Council. This hearing was going a little bit better than the last. The Council had finally taken their heads out of their asses and was taking it seriously. They had disavowed Saren and terminated his SPECTRE status. They even revealed the other voice on the log. Matriarch Benezia, a leader among the Asari. Another traitor to the Council.  
Garrus watched on as the Council officially named Shepard a SPECTRE. The first human SPECTRE, and she wanted him on her team.

Both Garrus and Shepard had unfinished business on the Citadel and agreed to meet at her ship, the Normandy by the end of the day. He headed to his office to turn in his transfer request to Executor Pallin. It was only a formality, as SPECTREs had priority and Pallin couldn't refuse it. But he was not happy. 

“You're the best investigator we got, Vakarian. I don't want to lose you.”

“Well sir, you should have thought of that when you tried to steamroll my investigation. I told you I had a feeling about Saren, but you ignored it. No, you did worse than that, you actively sabotaged my investigation. Now you look the fool.”

“How dare you talk to a superior that way.”

“All due respect, SIR, you're not my superior anymore.” Garrus left the office with Pallin sputtering behind him. 

Back at his apartment, he packed his belongings and old case files that he wasn't able to solve. He kept them around so he could periodically look over for things he might have missed. The case that bothered him the most was Dr. Saleon. This twisted, demented salarian almost ruined his career. The geneticist was the center of a investigation into black market organ trading. He was using his employees as test tubes. Cloning their organs, letting them grow and develop inside their bodies, then removing and selling them. If the organs failed, he would leave them inside their bodies, which would kill the people he used.

When C-Sec went to arrest him, Saleon had destroyed his lab, abducted his employees and fled the Citadel. Garrus insisted that the ship be shot down, knowing that Saleon would only use the hostages as test subjects, so they were as good as dead anyway. The Citadel defence forces refused to fire on the ship, citing that it was too close the station. Saleon got away and Garrus got reprimanded for it. It was then that he started to lose faith in C-Sec policy.

He had finished packing and headed to the docks when he saw the Normandy for the first time in person. Like Shepard herself, he had seen images and vids of the experimental ship, but they were nothing compared to seeing the real thing. She was a thing of beauty. A mixture of human and turian technology and design. Sleek and rugged, she was magnificent. 

“Oh, I'm going to enjoy this.” he muttered to himself as he entered the airlock and stepped inside. As he walked the corridor to his quarters, he noticed the stares. He was an oddity, he knew. The last turian to walk these halls was gunned down by the biggest terrorist the galaxy has ever known. Plus, it was a primarily all human crew and there was still resentment towards his people. He especially noticed glares coming from the older male standing in the navigator position. He did not envy the treatment that Tali was bound to receive. Quarians had the reputation of being scavengers and dirty. The envirosuits that they wore gave the impression of disease. Then there was the fact that they were the ones who introduced the Geth to the galaxy.

He took in the design of the interior of the ship. The command center was of turian design. The raised platform where the commander would stand was designed so he could watch all of his subordinates at the same time. Also to remind the crew who was in command. He made his way to his quarters and unpacked his belongings. It really was a fantastic ship.

As he sat on his bunk, Garrus thought of the situation in which he found himself. It was his dream assignment. Working with a SPECTRE, hunting down the bastard that murdered his best friend. And the SPECTRE he was working with was the most beautiful human he had ever seen and the most badass soldier he had ever seen in action. And the team she had gathered so far was interesting. A krogan bounty hunter, a quarian pilgrim, a semi-racist human soldier and biotic human soldier. 

Garrus wanted to talk to Shepard some more and made his way to the CIC. When he arrived, he saw Chief Williams and Lieutenant Alenko talking with the man who had glared at him as he'd boarded. He was worried that this was going to a problem, so he wanted to try and alleviate it as soon as possible.

“Chief, Lieutenant, how long have you known Shepard?”

“That's Commander Shepard to you.” snarled Williams. “You better watch yourself, Garrus. I don't like the idea of a turian on this ship.”

“Stand Down, Chief. He's here to help us. Sorry Garrus. Call me Kaiden, please. Well, the commander and I have been on a couple of assignments together before this. And we trained together as biotics. Although she doesn't have a damned L2 implant like I do. She's good, real good. Much better than me.”

“I've seen how good she is, Kaiden. She's very respected among your Navy, I gather.”

“She's a goddamn hero, Garrus. Saved my ass on Eden Prime, no thanks to your friend, Saren. Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if the turian government was behind this. If I find out you're behind this, I'll...”

“Stop right there, Chief! Saren is not my friend. You know who was? Nihlus was my friend. We grew up together. Saren murdered my best friend and I'm going to kill the bastard when I get the chance. He's a traitor to the Council and to the turians. So stow your crap.”

“I..I wasn't aware of that. I apologize. But I still don't trust you. You turians always shoot first and then shoot again, then ask questions.”

“First Contact War?”

“That's none of your damned business.”

“Ah, well I understand the resentment between our people. Let's make a deal with each other, ok? Let the past of our fathers', be our fathers'.”

“Whatever, just stay the hell away from me, got it?”

Garrus sighed. Well this was going to be more difficult than he thought. He turned to the other gentleman who had been witnessing this exchange.

“Garrus Vakarian, pleased to meet you....”

“Charles Pressly, navigation officer. Welcome aboard, Vakarian. Go easy on the girl, she's been through a lot.”

“What can I do? I think I understand why she hates me, but I wasn't even a part of the war. I guess I'll just steer clear of her while on this mission.”

“Gotta be honest, Garrus. I don't trust turians either, all non-humans really. But if the Commander says you're good people. Then that's good enough for me.”

“I appreciate that, Pressly. I'll try not to let you down. So how long have you known the Commander?”

“Well I was serving on the Agincourt when Skyllian Blitz happened. We were the first to arrive and witnessed first hand how Shepard handled those batarian bastards. She's tough, tougher than most. Then Captain Anderson chose me personally to be the navigation officer. Been serving along side her ever since.”

“Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Pressly. I better get going.”

Garrus wanted to meet Shepard's brother and started to make his way to the cockpit when the PA system activated. It was Shepard.

“This is Commander Shepard. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I won't lie to you crew. This mission isn't going to be easy. For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy. Time to show them what humans are made of. Our enemy knows we're coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us. But we'll be ready for them, too. Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all...we will stop him!”

He had stopped like everybody else to listen to Shepard's speech. It got his blood pumping, eager to catch Saren and eager to help her achieve her goal. He imagined it was the same for everybody else on board. 

He hoped to hell he would not let Ruby Shepard down.


	4. A Turian's Love

Garrus made his way to the cockpit and saw a small fragile looking man in the pilot's seat. Surely this isn't Jeff Moreau, Shepard's brother. This human was at least one third the size of Shepard. His intel must've been wrong.

“So are you gonna stare the whole way to Therum, or are you gonna actually talk?” 

“Um, I'm sorry what?

“You've been standing there for five minutes asking yourself the same question everybody asks.”

“What question is that?”

“How can you be Shepard's brother? You look nothing like her.” he said in a mocking tone. “How are you able to pilot this ship, with your condition.”

“Ah, I'm sorry Mr. Moreau, I just...”

“Joker. They call me Joker.”

“Joker? How'd you get a name like that?”

“Isn't it obvious? Because I'm just huge ball of sunshine, aren't I? Idiot. It's ironic, like calling a big fat guy Tiny.”

“Okay, I get that. So what condition are you talking about?”

“You haven't heard? Seems all anybody can talk about. I have Vrolik syndrome. You know, brittle bone disease. My bones didn't develop all the way and the slightest pressure can shatter them to pieces. Caused a lot of trouble with my joining the Navy, but I made it. Not only am I a great pilot, but I'm the best damned pilot in the whole galaxy.”

“Well, not a lack of confidence I see. You'd make a good turian, Joker. So, you are Shepard's brother, right? Why then...”

“Why are we so different? Well we have the same mother, but different fathers. Ruby is the one who encouraged me to go to flight school. I owe her a lot so when I was asked to fly her ship, I of course said yes.”

Garrus looked at this man and found that he admired him greatly. A horrible handicap was given to him and he overcame it. A little gruff, but he was used to that being a turian. He was sure he could be friends with Joker.

“So, Shepard? What's she like when she's not kicking ass?”

“Trade secrets, pal. You wanna find out, ask her yourself. I'm not making that mistake again. I was in a body cast for a year, the last time I went telling tales.”

“A body cast?”

“Yeah, her meathead of a boyfriend asked me about her and I made the mistake of telling a childhood story. Ruby found out and got so pissed she threw me across the room. She didn't do it on purpose, she just lost control for a second. If it had been anybody else, it would have been a massive bruise and a killer headache. But with my thing here, I was broken fifteen ways to Sunday. Ruby's been trying to make it up to me ever since. What she doesn't know is that I forgave her the day it happened. But it's fun to hold it over her head. Especially when she outranks me.”

“You do realize that you just told me a secret of hers, don't you?”

“Aw crap. You won't tell her, will you?”

“He doesn't have to, J. You told her, yourself.”

Garrus and Joker both spun around and found Shepard behind them leaning against the bulkhead with a bemused smile on her face. Garrus was again struck by her beauty, even when she was looking murderous.

“Shit, sis. Don't do that. You know I could break my neck if I turn too fast. So, how much did you hear?”

“Enough to know you've been holding that accident over my head for ten years. Ten years? You know I hated myself for that. How could you? And James was not a meathead.”

“Are you serious? He was the size of a Buick! He had no neck, for Christ's sake.”

“J! I'm not in the mood right now. New law, J, new law.”

“Oh no, not Ruby's Laws?”

“Yes, Ruby's Law 150: On the ship, Ruby shall be called Commander, not sis. Not Rube, not Ruby, Commander. Got that, Flight Lieutenant.”

“Aye, Commander.”

“Good. And Garrus?”

He snapped his head to Shepard's attention. “Yes?”

“You wanna know about me, you ask me. Not my crew.” Shepard turned on her heel and stormed off.

“Dammit, well at least I'm still in one piece.” Joker muttered.

Garrus stood there, stunned. He had seen turian generals that weren't that strict with their pilots, much less their family. He looked at Joker and he was slumped down in the chair, looking dejected. He felt sorry for Joker, then realized something. Shepard was pissed at him. 

“Shit.”

He ran down the corridor to catch Shepard to apologize. She had reached the lift and the doors were closing when he slipped through and joined her. Her back was facing him and her shoulders were shaking. He wanted to comfort her, pull her to him and hug her tightly. Whoa, were did that come from? He only just met her. But it felt right, he thought. 

“Shepard, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I mean, I didn't...”

Shepard turned around and she wasn’t crying, she was laughing. Laughing uncontrollably. Doubled over in gut wrenching laughter.

“Oh my God, that was hilarious. Did you see his face? Ya, I know. It was a little mean, but the little fucker had it coming. Ten years? That jerkwad had me treating him like he walked on air for ten years. I mean, who does that?”

“Commander?”

“Garrus, that brother of mine has been busting my ass over that little indiscretion for ten years. A little payback was in order. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of that. I swear, I'm a lot more professional than that normally.”

“Oh, well from everything I've heard about you, I believe it. And I'm sorry I've been going around all over the ship asking about you. I should have talked to you.”

“I would have worried if you didn't ask about me, Garrus. The easiest way to know your new commander is to ask the crew. So don't worry about it. But, anything you want to know from the source?”

“Well, there is something. Ruby's Laws? What's that?”

“Oh that?” Shepard laughed. “That's something I learned during my training. My instructor was a guy named Hackett. He was a hard bastard, but fair. He had this list of rules to live by, called them Steven's Laws. It was good advice. So, when I started my career, I adopted them. I keep adding to them. There were forty of them to start with. From what you saw up there, I'm up to 150 now.”

“Wait. You said Hackett? Steven Hackett? Admiral Steven Hackett? The head of the Alliance Navy was your instructor?”

“Yup, that's right. He was more of a father to me than my actual father.”

“That's impressive, Shepard. So, what are these laws?”

“Stick around long enough, and you'll find out, Vakarian.”

The lift doors opened and Shepard stepped out.

“Well, we have a while before we reach Therum and I have some paperwork to fill out and other things to take care of. Get settled and enjoy the ride. And Garrus? Not a word to Joker, understand?”

“Aye, Commander.”

“Oh, one more thing. Chief Williams. Watch yourself with that one. She really doesn't like you. Just give her time. She'll come around, or I'll kick her ass myself.”

Garrus stood there as the lift doors closed. The more he knew about Shepard, the more he admired her. Trained by the famed Admiral Hackett, saved Elysium from batarian slavers, one of the most powerful biotics he's ever seen, and the first human SPECTRE. She was a spectacular woman. He hasn't known a more impressive woman, human or otherwise. It was going to be an adventure getting to know her.

He was so lost in his thoughts about Shepard that he didn't notice the lift had opened and that Wrex was staring at him.

“Hello, C-Sec. You taking a ride on the lift? Having fun?”

“Wrex. Need the lift? Got a contract you need to kill?”

“Watch youself, C-Sec. I'm not one to screw with.” Wrex flexed his arms and lowered his head, showing his crown.

“Neither am I, Krogan. So keep your tail straight, got me?”

“Heh, you got a quad, C-Sec. I might just like you.” Wrex walked onto the lift and Garrus stepped off.

“Wrex.”

“C-Sec.” The doors closed and Garrus was alone in the cargo bay. Or so he thought.

Garrus looked down underneath the Mako and saw two feet sticking out. He heard tinkering and thought he heard them say “Bosh t'et”

“Tali? Is that you?”

He heard a bump and Tali curse. She came crawling out from underneath the Mako, rubbing her head.

“Garrus? What are you doing here?” Tali looked around nervously, trying to see if anybody else was around.

“I was going to ask you the same question? What were you doing under there?”

“Oh, I was just trying to figure out how it worked. It's a quarian thing.”

“Okay, but why are you so nervous?”

“Well, people don't trust quarians with tech. You know the reputation of us being scavengers and thieves.” Tali looked like she was about to cry.

“Tali, please. It's okay. I won't tell anybody, if you don't want me to. But you might want to talk to Commander Shepard, to inform her of your intentions. In case she catches you like I did. Trust me, she'll understand. And might even give you her permission to look at any tech on the ship. Just don't start building Geth and you'll be alright” He said with a smile, assuring her that he was teasing.

Tali was about to say something when the lift doors opened. Shepard walked into the cargo bay, fully geared up.

“Garrus, Tali, gear up and mount up. You're with me. We've arrived at Therum. Let's go find a doctor.”


	5. A Turian's Love Chapter 5

They finally reached the ruins. Garrus swiped sweat from his forehead, fighting a crapload of Geth took a lot of out of him. Fighting Geth was different from tracking down scumbags on the Citadel. He hadn't worked out this hard since his training on Palaven. Fighting along side Shepard was as exhilarating as it was the first time. But he was impressed with Tali. Her tech skills surpassed his and she was deadly with that shotgun.

“Damn, I thought we were done for when that Colossus showed up.” Tali gasped.

“Me too, but when you overloaded it's shields and Shepard threw the grenade to stagger it, it gave me a clear shot to take it down.”

“Okay you guys, enough flirting. We're not done yet. We still to find T'soni and get the hell out of here.”

“Sorry Shepard.”

“Don't be sorry, just start looking.”

Garrus and Tali walked off in separate directions. He searched the ruins for any signs for the doctor. He worried with the amount of Geth they had encountered that the Asari was already dead, or worse, she was the one calling the shots. This was Benezia's daughter after all. They still didn't know what her allegiances were. He lifted his rifle and dropped a Geth that popped around the corner. He felt the energy from a biotic charge behind him. He turned and saw Shepard take out a couple more Geth. He saw in the back of the open area they were in, a set of stairs.

“Shepard, Tali, I found something.”

They made their way to the stairs and climbed. 

“Um, hello? Is anyone there?” A timid voice called out. “Are the Geth gone?”

They turned the corner and Garrus marveled at what they saw. A young Asari hanging in midair, suspended by energy fields emitting from an odd looking machine. She was struggling, trying to free herself.

“Dr. T'soni?” Shepard asked.

“Yes, do you mind getting me down? I've been stuck here awhile. It's getting quite uncomfortable.”

“What are you doing here? How did you get up there?”

“Just get me down, please. I'll answer all your questions, just get me out of here first, will you?”

“Okay, sorry. Of course. Spread out, find a way back there.”

Garrus looked around, still wondering if this Asari could be trusted. Shepard was taking a big risk helping her before finding out where T'soni stood. He was about to inform Shepard of his thoughts when a loud blast rang in his ears. Shepard had found a laser drill that cut a hole in the earth and made a path to T'soni and to the machine holding her. Shepard's hand hovered over the button to turn the machine off.

“What can you tell us about Matriarch Benezia?”

“Mother? I haven't heard from or talked to Benezia in years. Last I heard she was on Thessia. Why?”

“Don't toy with us, T'soni.” Garrus snarled. “We know she's in league with Saren and the Geth. Just tell us what their plans are.”

“Geth? You mean the same Geth who are here trying to kill me? And who's Saren? I've never heard of him.”

“Convenient that you got 'stuck' in the only place where you'd be safe from them. How do we know that this isn't a trap?”

“Garrus, hold on.” Shepard stepped in. “I think she's telling the truth. Look at her. She's completely clueless about her mother. I'm getting her down.”

Shepard pressed the button and the energy fields retracted back into the machine and T'soni fell to the ground, knocking the breath out of her.

“Oof. Thank you for freeing me, but you think someone could have caught me?”

Garrus smirked at the doctor's discomfort. He didn't trust her. He was sure she knew what Saren and Benezia were up to. It was just too much of a coincidence that she was still alive on a planet crawling with Geth and their outposts. Not only that, but she's supposed to be a galaxy-class archeologist and a Prothean expert and she gets “stuck” in a Prothean device? No, he didn't buy it.

“So what is it that Benezia's supposed to have done?”

“She's working with a turian named Saren. He's a former SPECTRE that aligned with the Geth and he's looking for a Prothean artifact called the Conduit.”

“The Conduit? I've never heard of that. Are you sure it's a Prothean artifact?”

“That's what our intelligence leads us to believe. Saren tried to steal a Prothean beacon found on Eden Prime. We got to it and got the information before he was able to get away with it.”

“You found another beacon? Where is it? I must study it.”

“It was destroyed, unfortunately.”

“What? I...”

The ground started shaking and debris was falling around them. Damn, that blast must have destabilized the ruins. They needed to leave, now.

“Shepard! If you want to continue this conversation, I suggest we get back to the Normandy.”

“You're right. Joker, lock onto our position and come pick us up. And step on it, J.”

“Aye, Commander. On our way.”

The group rode the lift to the exit and were ambushed by a group of Geth led by a huge Krogan. Great, thought Garrus. She probably signaled them somehow. Demands and threats were made before the firefight broke out. Garrus was shocked when T'soni fired a biotic charge at the krogan and dropped him hard. Maybe he was wrong? Nah, just throwing them off so she can get close to them. When the last Geth fell is when all hell broke loose. The ruins were falling down on their heads. They ran for the exit and Shepard was just coming out of the tunnel when it collapsed behind her. Dust and rock came shooting out covering them head to foot. 

The Normandy came around the surrounding cliffs and hovered above them. Garrus was again impressed with Joker's flying. He really was good. The hatch opened up and they spilled into the cargo bay, coughing and spitting dust that had covered their tongues. He glanced at Tali and knew that she would need to repair her CO2 scrubbers. That much dust would wreck havoc on her envirosuit.

“Tali? You okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Garrus. Gonna need a major bath though.”

“Briefing first, then showers all around.” Shepard barked. “Dr. T'soni, welcome aboard the Normandy.”

“Please, call me Liara.”

During the briefing, Shepard explained everything to T'soni. The beacon, Saren, the Geth, and the Conduit. She took it all in, and Garrus saw that she seemed overwhelmed. Then Shepard mentioned the visions and the fact that she couldn't make sense of them. He looked up, he hadn't heard this part. T'soni said she could help, that she would merge their minds. He didn't like that.

“Shepard, I don't think that's a good idea. We still don't know where her true allegiance are. She could be working with them.”

“Garrus, if this helps me figure out these damned images, I'd let Saren himself do this. I need these out of my head. Besides, I believe her.

Garrus grunted and knew he couldn't stop her. The asari approached Shepard and grabbed her. Shepard went rigid, like she was having a seizure. Garrus jumped up and started towards them. Wrex stood up and got in front of him.

“Stand down, C-Sec. I've seen this before. You don't want to interrupt, it could do a lot of damage to both of them. Drive the doctor insane, melt Shepard's brain, anything really. So, sit down, shut up and let it ride.”

“Dammit Wrex, you trust her?”

“I don't trust anybody, unless I'm getting paid to. But you've got to sit down.”

Garrus sat down, seething. Shepard and T'soni gasped and jumped back away from each other. Both looking like they were about to vomit. 

“What the hell was that? Shepard breathed. 

“I saw it, but you're right. It didn't make much sense.”

“Actually, it's a little clearer to me. At first I thought it was a vision of the future with the Geth destroying organic life. Instead, it's the past. Protheans, in fact. They're being wiped out by huge machines. Not the Geth, but something else. The Reapers, maybe? I don't know. It's still very unclear.”

T'soni swooned and almost fell. Shepard reached out and caught her.

“You okay, doctor?”

“I need to lie down. This takes a lot of energy to perform. Is there a place I can rest?”

“Yes, there's a room in the med bay. Dr. Chakwas will help you.”

“Thank you, Shepard.” T'soni walked out of the briefing room.

“Shepard.”

“Commander”

Both Garrus and Williams spoke up ready to relay their feelings about the asari.

“Enough, both of you. Not now. I need to report this to the Council. Dismissed. All of you.”

Looking angry as hell, Williams stormed out, pushing past Garrus and glaring at him. He tried to stop her, to let her know that he agreed with her about T'soni. But she gave him a look that made him back off. Garrus waited until everybody left and tried to talk to Shepard.

“Garrus, really. Not now.”

“Shepard, I...”

“I know what you are going to say. We'll discuss it later. I promise.”

“Aye, Commander.”

Garrus walked out and ran into Tali, standing there waiting. She was holding what looked like scrap metal. 

“Tali, didn't see you there. What are doing? And what is that?”

“I was waiting for Shepard. I needed to talk to her about this. It's a piece of that machinery that was holding Liara. I think we could use it for something.”  
“That's great. Anything that can help us bring Saren down, I'm sure Shepard will be grateful. Have you talked to her about exploring the ship?”

“Not yet, that's also what I wanted to talk to her about.”

Garrus smiled at Tali. He liked her. She was so innocent and almost childlike, but she was a badass when she wanted to be. He sympathized with the quarians. They were driven from their homeworld. Yes, by their own creations, but they didn't deserve that. Forced to live on the Flotilla, moving from system to system. Nowhere to call home. Then there was the treatment they got whenever they left the Flotilla. They were treated like they had the plague. It wasn't fair. They had to scavenge, had to find whatever they could to survive. The label of thieves wasn't fair either. Sure there were a few that stole their salvage, but that was by no means the majority. Most came by their wares legitimately. 

“Well, hope your conversation goes better than mine just did. I was shut down. But no matter. I'm going to shower and get this grime off of me. Speak to you later, Tali.”

“Bye Garrus, and thanks.”

Freshly showered and feeling like himself again, Garrus stepped out of the lift and knew something was not right. Crewmen walking quickly in one direction away from the raised voices reverberating down the corridor. He ran towards the voices and found the source.

“Bullshit, Commander. This is not what I signed on for. I thought we were going after that piece of shit turian. Instead, I'm on some sort of fucking Noah's Ark with fucking turians and krogan. Then that little dirty scavenger joins up. And if that wasn't bad enough, you invite that whore on board. For fuck's sake, Shepard, what are you thinking?”

“Chief, calm down. Now, that's an order. This is my crew and I'll damned well have anybody I please on my ship. You got that, Williams?”

“Screw that, SIR. I'm sending a report to the Alliance. This isn't right, Shepard.”

Williams stormed off, again pushing into Garrus.

“Fuck outta my way, turian.”

Williams stormed down the corridor and out of sight. Garrus watched her disappear and turned to Shepard.

“What, Vakarian? You have something to say, as well?”

“No, no. It can wait.” Garrus held up his arms in surrender. “I think I'll go see how Joker's doing. Come find me when you're not wearing a blue shield of kick ass.”

Shepard looked at her arms and realized that she had been charging up her biotics. She quickly powered down and looked embarrassed.


	6. Chapter 6

“I don't know, Garrus. Liara seems okay to me.” Joker replied as his fingers flew across the Normandy controls. “Plus, she's smoking hot.”

Garrus scoffed. He had told his concerns to the pilot. It figured that Joker would be thinking with something other than his brain. Garrus was still concerned about T'soni being on the ship and having full access to their intel. He was worried that she was relaying information to her mother and to Saren.

“Besides, if I know one thing about my sister, it's that she's an excellent judge of character. She reads people better than anybody I've seen. I mean she picked me for her pilot, am I right?”

“Are you sure that was a good thing?” Garrus laughed.

“Of course, who wouldn't want this handsome piece of happiness flying their ship?” Joker grumped.

“Her only problem is not being able to pick the right guy. Be careful with that, Garrus.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh stop it, G. I know you got a thing for her. Hell, everybody does. She may be my sister, but I'm not blind. It pains me to say it, but my sister is a stone cold fox.”

“Joker..”

“But she has intimacy issues. You think that fling with the meathead was because they were in love?”

“Jeff, please stop.”

“No, it was because apparently the sex was good. How do I know? Thin walls, man. Thin walls.”

“JOKER!”

“She's standing right behind me, isn't she?”

“Uhh huh.”

“Fuck.” Joker lowered his head. “Hey sis, how's it going?”

Shepard glared at Joker with daggers in her eyes. “Jeffrey Octavius Moreau! Just what in the hell do you think you are doing?”

“Sorry, Commander.”

“J, we WILL talk later. Garrus, you got a minute?” She turned and walked down the corridor.

“Thanks a lot, PAL.” Garrus shot at Joker and followed Shepard.

“You know, you should a bell on or something, unless you really are trying to kill me, COMMANDER.”

“Dammit, Joker” Garrus thought. Shepard led him to her office and sat down. She unbuttoned her uniform away from her neck and sighed.

“Mmm. That's better. Now, you wanted to talk?”

He stared a moment at the newly exposed skin. This woman was driving him crazy, he thought.

“Hello? You in there?”

“Huh? Oh sorry, yes. It's about T'soni.”

Shepard tensed. “What about her?”

“I don't trust her.”

“Like Williams doesn't trust her?” she said angrily. “'Cuz I don't think I can take any more bigotry today, Vakarian.”

“No, no, nothing like that. It's just that we don't know if she's actually on our side or not. This is her mother we're talking about.”

Shepard rubbed between her eyes in frustration. “Dammit, Garrus, we talked about this. I believe that she's telling the truth. She has no idea what Benezia is doing.”

“All due respect, Shepard. How can you know for sure? It doesn't pass the smell test. This whole thing stinks.”

“Garrus, I know, okay. Drop this.” She reached across the desk ad grabbed his hand. “Just trust me, please.”

He looked at his hand in hers and his heart started racing. He was falling in love with this woman. And it scared him, scared him shitless. And thrilled him. Of course he would trust her, he would do anything for her. But he would not let her know how he felt, not yet anyway. He wasn't ready for that.

“I trust you, Shepard. I'll go along with this. But I'm still wary of her.”

“That's good enough for now. Thank you, Garrus. This means a lot. We have to work together for this to happen.”

“What about Williams?”

“Ugh, don't talk to me about that bitch. I want to rip her head off and dump the rest of her out the airlock” Shepard threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. “I don't know what to do with her. She's a good soldier and she can help us, but she needs to get over that crap she has with non-humans.”

“Prejudice isn't something that can be cured overnight, Shepard. Hell, it probably can never be. Appeal to her soldier mentality, keep to the mission with her. I'll give her a wide berth and leave her alone. But Shepard, if she calls Tali a dirty scavenger again, I'll beat you to the airlock with her lifeless body. Just fair warning.”

“Fair enough. You've grown quite protective of our little pilgrim, haven't you?”

“Not that she really needs protecting. She's tough. But she's seen more action than a girl her age needs to. She's innocent and naive, Shepard, thrust into a hard situation.” 

Shepard laughed. “Not that innocent and not that naïve, Garrus. You know that her father is on the Admiralty Board, right? She was sent on her pilgrimage to investigate rumors of geth activity beyond the Veil.

“I did not know that. Well, she's just full of surprises, isn't she?”

“She's not the only one. She tells me that you're the one that encouraged her to ask me about the ship and if she could study it.”

“That I did. I saw her looking at the Mako and she was worried I was going to yell and turn her in for stealing. I told her to talk to you and get permission so the others wouldn't bother her.”

“How did you know I wouldn't tell her to back off, or even throw her off my ship?”

“The way you gathered us all together. You don't seem to have the same prejudices as most humans I've met do. I knew you would let her do what she needed to best serve this ship.”

Shepard looked at Garrus and smiled. They sat there like that for a while. The silence was deafening. Garrus was getting nervous and started fidgeting. He wanted to stay, but felt the urge to bolt the room. Shepard's smile got bigger. Was she teasing him on purpose? Or was she unaware of his discomfort. He was about to make a lame excuse to leave when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Shepard commanded.

Kaiden opened the door and walked in. “Hey Commander, I was wondering if...oh sorry, didn't know you were busy.” 

“Oh no, Lieutenant, I was just leaving.” Garrus stood to leave and nodded towards Shepard. “Commander.”

“Thanks Garrus. Be ready. We should arrive at Noveria within the next couple of hours.”

“Sounds good. By the way, were kidding with Joker again, right?”

“Oh no. I'm gonna kill him good, this time. So, if you know a good pilot, give him a call.”

“Ah, I see. I'll be sure to pass that along.”

As Garrus walked out of the office, he saw the way Kaiden and Shepard looked at each other and saw mutual attraction between them.

“Crap.” He suddenly hated Kaiden Alenko.

He went to the cargo bay to set his gear up. He was cleaning his sniper rifle when Tali came rushing in.

“Garrus, you were right. She gave me permission to study the ship and figure it out how it works. She didn't even hesitate. She even listened to my idea about the stasis field and incorporating it into the ship.” 

“Tali, that's great. I knew she would. So, have you learned much about the ship?”

She gave him a hug and jumped up and down. “Oh yes. Greg has been really nice and is showing me everything. This ship is fantastic. The most advanced ship in Citadel space. Thanks, Garrus. Thank you so much.”

“Hey, they were your ideas. I just pushed you towards her office.”

Tali stopped jumping and lowered her head. “No, thank you for treating me like a person and not some disease. We don't get a lot of that from non-quarians.”

Garrus grabbed her arms and lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. “Now, you listen to me. I treat you that way, because you ARE a person. You are not a disease and never will be. I don't want to hear that from you again, understand?”

“Chief Williams doesn't like me, does she? I heard what she called me.”

“Don't worry about her. Those are her problems, not ours. Ignore that bosh t'et.”

Tali giggled then turned serious. “Garrus, why were you in here alone and looking sad?”

He sighed and deflected the question. So, an admiral's daughter? Why the naïve little girl act?”

“Oh, Shepard told you? Well, um, you were the first one since I left the Flotilla to treat me like I was an actual person. And even there, I wasn't treated very well. My cousin, Kal, was very protective of me. You remind me of him, in a lot of ways. So, I just came to think of you as a big brother type, like him. So, I was hoping that's okay with you. This doesn't change anything, does it?”

“No, it doesn't. It doesn't change a thing. Tali, you're a big girl and you don't have to pretend with me. You've proven yourself already. You're good in a fight, you're probably the smartest person on this ship, and you're the one who found the evidence against Saren. You don't have anything else to prove to me. And not to Shepard either. She trusts you. If she didn't she wouldn't let you anywhere near Engineering.”

Just then, the lift doors opened and Garrus frowned. T'soni walked out in armor with Shepard trailing behind. Oh no, Garrus thought, she's coming along to Noveria? He didn't like that. Bringing her to her mother is probably what they want. He shot Shepard a look that he hoped conveyed his thoughts.

“Garrus, Wrex. You'll be in the main party with me. Tali, you and Liara will be on Stand-By until we know where Benezia is hiding. Everybody gear up and be ready.”

Okay, Garrus thought. If T'soni really is on our side, then bringing her to confront her mother is a good plan. He hoped to hell Shepard was right about this.


	7. A Turian's Love Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:  
> Sorry there was such a long delay. Writer's block and real life got in the way. Also wanted to note, in response to a reader's comment on my previous chapter. Yes, this is an alternate reality, however, very slight. Some details have changed, but the main story is the same. Relationships, motives and conversations are slightly different here than in the game. Thank you, everybody for your continued support.

“Damn, Shepard. Rachni?” Wrex wiped the copious amount of blood of his face and flung it at Garrus's feet. He jumped and shot a scowl at Wrex.

“Hey, watch it, bounty hunter.”

“Oh, don't be a baby, C-Sec. It's just a little blood. Heh.”

Garrus turned to Shepard. “Now he's brought the rachni back? This isn't good, Shepard. The last time anybody saw them, they almost destroyed the entire galaxy. Good thing we have one of the guys that took them out.”

“Technically, I wasn't there, C-Sec. But thanks for the vote of confidence. Only problem is, these things aren't rachni. Not really. Rachni were smart, methodical. These guys are blood-thirsty, chaotic with no strategy whatsoever. They don't smell right, Shepard.”

“We'll figure out what going on with the Rachni later, Wrex. Right now we need to get Tali and Liara down here. Benezia is here.” Shepard clicked her comm unit. “Tali, bring Liara to our coordinates, now. It's time.”

“Yes, Shepard. On our way.”

It would take a little while for the duo to reach their location. They had set up a perimeter to protect them from the remaining rachni. Wrex had found his own little corner to do his normal pacing. God, it was nerve wrecking watching him walk in a circle slamming his fists together. These neutered rachni were really bothering him. Shepard was talking to the shell shocked volus who had survived Benezia and her squad of asari commandos. Garrus sat down and started nervously cleaning his rifle. He trusted Shepard but was still unsure of this plan. Shepard finished her conversation and sat down next to Garrus.

“Whew, that guy's nuttier than Udina at a Terra Firma rally. Don't blame him, of course. Rachni, Benezia, killer asari commandos? Guy's had it rough.”

“Shepard, are you sure about this? Now, before you bite my head off, I just think we should think about it again. We don't know how T'soni will react seeing her mother. She may believe she's on our side, but as soon as she sees her, she could change her mind.”

“I understand your doubts, Garrus. I really do, but we have to trust Liara. If you knew what I know...well. Let's just say I have reason to trust her. So please, for the last time, drop this and trust me. Now, can we talk about something else?”

“Alright. So, Lieutenant Alenko seems like a nice guy. Something going on with you two?”

“Why? You jealous?” Shepard gave him a sideways glance and smirked.

Garrus sputtered. “What? No, just curious.” He felt that he wasn't very convincing in his denial and knew that Shepard knew it.

“Honestly, I don't know. There was almost something back in biotic training. But I was seeing someone at the time. So nothing happened. Bad thing was, James and I broke up a year later, and Kaidan had moved on. Then we both graduated and were assigned to different ships to opposite sides of Alliance space. And now, he's here and maybe those feelings are coming back. I just don't know.”

“I see, so does that happen to you a lot? Guys just lining up to date you?” Garrus teased.

“Not nearly as much as Jeff would have you believe. The only person I've actually dated, per say, was James.”

“James?”

“The meathead. And sadly, J was right. There was no love between us. It was just crazy hot sex. And, oh my God, why did I just tell you that? How embarrassing. Great commandering, Ruby.” She slaps her forehead. “And I just broke my own law. Ruby's Law 54; Never talk sex with your crew.”

“So, why did you tell me?”

“I don't know. I can't explain it, but I feel very comfortable around you. I feel like I've known you for years. You know what I mean?”

“I think so. It doesn't make sense, but I get it.”

“I hope I didn't embarrass you.”

“Not entirely, no. It takes much more than that to make a turian blush, Shepard.”

Giving a sideways smirk, Shepard replied, “Good to know.”

Just then, Tali and T'soni arrived, splattered with Rachni blood. They must have run into a few stragglers, thought Garrus.

“Liara, Tali are you okay?”

“Yes, we are unharmed, Shepard. But, are we sure that moth...Benezia is still here?”

“I have Joker monitoring the planet for departing ships. Nothing has left the surface since we arrived. She's here, Liara, along with geth and a squad of asari commandos.”

“Goddess, Shepard. Asari commandos?”

Garrus looked on and watched T'soni's reactions. She was either legitimately surprised or she was a very good actress. He still wasn't sure about her motives, but had a feeling he was about to find out for sure. 

“Alright, everyone ready? Let's go.”

They entered the lab and there she was, Saren's top lieutenant. Benezia was standing next to a huge containment unit. Inside was the biggest rachni they had seen yet. That must be a queen, Garrus thought. How did she get here?

“You will not sway me from our goal, Shepard. No matter who you brought with you. My daughter cannot help you.”

“What are you talking about? Liara's here to help take you down.”

“Indeed. What have you told them about me.”

“What could I tell them, mother? That you are insane? Evil? Or explain how to kill you? What could I possibly say? Please, mother, don't do this.”

“Enough, Liara. Have you faced an asari commando unit before, Commander? Few humans have.”

“I can't believe that you would kill your own daughter.”

“I realize now that I should have been stricter with her upbringing. It saddens me, but you must all die now.” 

The fight was rough. Geth, asari commandos, and Benezia herself. They barely made it, but ultimately Benezia and her minions fell. That's when the truth was revealed. Benezia was not in control of herself. Saren was controlling her somehow. She managed to break free of the hold long enough to tell them how to find Saren. The Mu Relay.

Garrus watched as Liara hold her mother's body, sobbing uncontrollably and felt guilty. He had spent all this time accusing her of being in league with her mother, that he never thought that she might be trying to reconcile. That she might want to convince her to stop the madness of following Saren. And now, it was too late. Not only that, but that she had a hand in the death of her own mother. All his doubt and animosity towards Liara melted away and he felt pity and remorse.

“Liara, I'm so sorry. I didn't think...” Garrus said softly.

Shepard reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “Not now, Garrus. Leave her alone. Besides, we're not done here, yet. You forget about that giant bug in the tube over there?”

Just then one of the dead asari got up and started talking to Shepard.

Great Spirits, thought Garrus. It was the Queen telepathically talking through the asari. She tried to convince Shepard that she was the last one and to spare her. Garrus was dubious of letting her go and told Shepard as much.

“Shepard, this is not a good idea. The last time Rachni ran loose on the galaxy, there was a huge war, you might remember.”

“He is correct. But our children cannot sing. They are disconnected and sing sour notes. They cannot be contained. We ask that you destroy them. Do what you will with us, but silence our children.”

Liara stood up from the body of her mother. “Shepard, you can't do this. The wars were not her fault. Does she deserve to die for the sins of her people?”

“I won't be responsible for the genocide of an entire species. I'm letting you go, but if you go back on your word, I will hunt you down and eradicate you from the galaxy. Clear?” Shepard said as she pressed the controls to open the tube and released the Rachni queen.

“I hope you know what you're doing, Shepard. We don't need this coming back to bite us in the ass.” Garrus grumbled.

“I do too, Garrus. But I didn't have a choice.” Shepard sighed. “Alright, let's get out of here. Liara, what do you want to do with her body?”

“I need to bury her, Shepard. On Thessia, on the old homestead. I know she's a traitor in the eyes of our government, but she's still my mother.” 

“Okay, we'll make a stop. Garrus, Wrex, can you help with the body?”

Both Garrus and Wrex jumped up. “Of course, Shepard. Come on, C-Sec, let's go.”

They picked up the body and carried it while they made their way back to the ship. It was not easy, considering that they still had to fight rogue rachni along the way.

Wrex was mumbling the entire way about fighting rachni and carrying Benezia's body at the same time. “You'd think Liara could help a little here, right C-Sec?”

“Hey, lay off, bounty hunter. Liara's in not state to carry the body of her mother. Besides, it's the least I can do, considering...”

“Ha, considering the fact you've been on her ass the whole time she's been on the ship? If making it up to her is what you're thinking about, then maybe I should just throw my half over your shoulders and make you carry it by yourself.” And Wrex did just that. He flipped the body over Garrus's sholders and walked off, blasting a few more rachni.

“Her, Wrex, her!” Garrus yelled at Wrex's back.

Finally making it back to the Normandy after Shepard found a way to firebomb the lab to hell, Garrus carried Benezia's body to the med bay and laid her on one of the tables.

“How is it that you always find a way to blow things up, Shepard?”

“Ruby's Law #45, There's always a bomb. Use it.” Shepard smirked.

“Um, do you know where Liara went? I need to talk to her.”

“I don't know, Garrus. You haven't exactly been her friend, you know. She might not want to see you at the moment.” Shepard turned to Garrus and tilted her head. “But, I won't stop you from trying. She went to the Aft Observation Lounge.”

“Thanks. I know I haven't been kind to her. That's why I need to talk to her. I'll see you later.”

Garrus walked out of the med bay and towards the lounge. He needed Liara to understand how sorry he was for the way he treated her. He entered the lounge and found Liara looking out into the void.  
“Liara? Can we talk?” Garrus quietly asked.

“What is it, Garrus? Here to ask me if I'll be taking my mother's place at Saren's side?”

Garrus winced. “I deserve that. Liara, please. I am so very sorry for your loss. And for the way I treated you. I have no excuse.”

“You do, actually. You were right. I did think about joining my mother. I loved her so much, Garrus. I thought that maybe, just maybe, she was right in joining with Saren. That she would have a good reason for doing what she did. After all, she was one of the wisest women in the galaxy. But after seeing what we saw on Noveria, I just couldn't turn my back on my people and this crew. I knew we had to take her down, or try to make her see reason. But after all that, she was just a pawn in Saren's sick, twisted game.”

“No, Liara. Remember what she said? She did it to try and stop Saren from what he was doing. To try and make him see reason. But he was too powerful, too far gone down this path of evil. And now I'm beginning to think if we can do this mission. If your mother couldn't do it, how can we?”

Liara turned and looked into his eyes. “No, Garrus. We can and we will stop Saren. Because we have something that even my mother did not have. Shepard. She will do this and we will aid her.”

“Joker has set a course for Thessia. We should be there within a day. Is there anything you need? Name it.”

“I need someone to make the pyre. Can you do that for me?” Liara said, tears forming in her eyes.

“Of course, Liara. I would be honored. Well, I should go and get my nice clothes ready. Don't think I can attend a funeral in my armor.”

“Alright. And Garrus...thank you. I appreciate you coming to talk to me.”

“You're welcome. And again, I'm sorry.”

Garrus walked out and started to make his way to his quarters.

“That was a nice thing you did, C-Sec.”

Garrus jumped three feet in the air. “Spirits, Wrex. Don't do that.”

“Heh. You're a little jumpy, aren't you. I just thought that was a nice gesture to build the pyre. Catch ya around, C-Sec.” Wrex walked off laughing to himself.

Garrus shook his head at Wrex and continued to his quarters. He turned the corner and found Shepard talking to Kaidan. She was laughing at something he said and she had her hand on his arm. Garrus felt a pang of jealousy and walked faster to his room. He closed and locked the door.

“Dammit, Garrus. Why do you do this to yourself? You have no right to her.” Garrus berated himself. He decided then that he was going to stop torturing himself, for now, and get ready for the funeral. Now he just had to figure out how to make a pyre.


	8. A Turian's Love Chapter 8

The funeral was underway and the turnout was more than expected. It seemed to Garrus that half of Thessia had shown up to pay their respects to the Matriarch. Even the Asari Councilor had made the trip from the Citadel to attend. Liara was speaking to the crowd, telling stories from her childhood of her mother, barely keeping her tears in check. 

Benezia's body was sitting on top of the funeral pyre that Garrus had built. Much to his surprise, Williams had helped him build it. Ashley had come to him after they got back to the Normandy and asked him if she could help. Her attitude had changed since she heard what had happened on Noveria. She explained that watching her own mother die had made her realize that humans and aliens, as she put it, weren't all that different. She had been raised that aliens were not to be trusted and that they all were out to keep humans from progressing. She still didn't trust aliens completely, but she felt saddened that her crewmate was hurting and wanted to help. Garrus welcomed her help and got to know her a little better as they worked on the pyre.

Garrus was reflecting on this when Liara started singing. It was a beautiful and haunting song. The rest of the asari started singing along with her and Garrus realized it was a traditional Asari funeral dirge. He looked over at Shepard and saw her eyes closed, tears falling down her cheeks. It was the first time he had seen her without her armor. She was wearing a simple black dress but he thought she had never looked more beautiful. He frowned at himself. Here he was, admiring her looks, when he was at a funeral for what turned out to be a much loved public figure. Shepard looked his way and gave him a small smile. He smiled back but stopped when he realized she was holding hands with Alenko. He turned towards Liara and watched her as she sang. He thought, “Well I guess that's that. She's with him now.”

The song finished, Liara walked towards the pyre with a torch in hand. She lit the pyre and it went up in flames. Everybody watched as Benezia's body burned, returning her spirit to the Goddess and her ashes falling to the earth, replenishing the ground from which she came. 

As the crown dispersed, Liara approached Garrus and reached out to touch his arm.

“Thank you, Garrus. The pyre was perfect. Mother would have approved.”

“It was the least I could do, Liara. I am honored that I was able to be a part of this. Again, I'm sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. And Chief Williams, I understand that you helped. I am surprised.”

“Yes, I was surprised, too. At myself, at least my past behavior. Dr. Tsoni, I am so terribly sorry for the way I acted. I was a complete and total bitch and I hope you can forgive me.”

“Ashley, I understand where your mistrust comes from and you are forgiven. We have much larger concerns right now and have no time for petty grudges Now that Mother has been laid to rest, we should concentrate on finding how to access the Mu Relay and find out how Saren is controlling his forces.” 

Liara reached over and gave Ashley a small hug. Ashley's body visibly relaxed as she accepted the contact as if a great weight lifted from her. Garrus smiled as Ashley seemed to realize that we were all on the same side and was finally accepting the fact that she wasn't alone. He looked up and saw Shepard and Alenko were heading their way.  
“Finally, Williams. Come to your senses, have you?”

Ashley wiped tears from her eyes. “Yes ma'am. Sorry for the bitchery.”

“Forgiven. Liara, how are you doing?”

“I am fine, Shepard. Thank you for this.”

“Of course, anytime. Well, hopefully this is the last time we have to have a funeral for this war.”

“Oh, this is a war now?” Garrus smirked. “I thought this was a black ops, off the books mission.”

“Well, officially it is, but I have a feeling we are just getting started and it's only going to get worse.”

Garrus frowned. He had the same feeling, especially when it concerned Saren.

“Alright, crew. Move out and report back to the Normandy. We have to get to Feros and find out what's going on over there.”

“Aye Commander!” The crew replied.

Back on board, Garrus was reading his messages when he saw one from his former boss, Pallin. It was a report that he thought he'd never see. Dr. Saleon was spotted in a small spaceport and was spacebound. He had changed his name to Dr. Heart (That sick fuck!) and travelling on the MSV Fedele. The ship's trajectory put him on their way to Feros. He had to talk to Shepard.

Garrus was on his way to the CIC when he ran into Ashley. 

“Whoa there, Vakarian. Where's the fire?”

“Sorry Chief. I need to talk to Shepard about something, immediately.”

“Dr. Saleon, I presume?”

“Yes, wait. How did you know?”

“Call it my peace offering to you. I maybe just a lowly chief with a dubious family history. But I have my connections. I made a few inquiries and passed them along to C-Sec for further investigation. I knew Pallin would let you know. He and my father have a past. I hope I didn't overstep my bounds.”

Garrus reached out and hugged her and kissed her cheek. “No, of course not. This is what I needed. Thank you so much, Ashley.”

Ashley blushed and looked at Garrus in a way that he couldn't figure out. He hugged her again and ran off, yelling behind him.

“Thanks again, Ash. I'll never forget this.”

“You better not, Vakarian.”

Garrus had made his way to the CIC and found Shepard standing at the CIC, looking over the galaxy map, deep in thought.

“Shepard, I found him!”

“Found who?”

“Dr. Saleon. I found his as and we need to go after him. Now, please.”

“Whoa, Garrus, calm down. Now tell me everything.”

“Dr. Saleon, or Dr. Heart as he's calling himself these days, is on the MSV Fedele. He's only a system away, we need to get him before he disappears again.”

“Where did this information come from, is it reliable?”

“It came from C-Sec, Executor Pallin, himself.”

“Okay, how do you want to handle this?”

“Find the ship, board it and take that fucker out.”

Garrus was pissed. Dr. Saleon was a sick freak that needed to be stopped, but most of all, he had humiliated Garrus and he wanted revenge.

“Okay, Garrus. Let's slow down and come up with a plan that won't get people killed. We'll track the ship down and find it. I promise.”

“Thank you, Shepard. This means a lot to me.”

“Alright. Joker, set an intercept course for the MSV Fedele, and engage the stealth drive.”

“Aye, Commander.”

Shepard turned to Garrus and placed a hand on his arm.

“We'll get him. Now go calm down, you look like you're about start tearing bulkheads off the walls. Go talk to J.”

“You're right, Shepard. I'm sorry. It's just this was my case and I failed. People died because of my mistakes. I need to correct them and get justice for those lost.”

“I know. Go to the bridge, now. That's an order, turian.” She said with a smile.

“Yes, Commander.”

Garrus got to the bridge and sat down in the co-pilot seat. He sighed heavily and slammed his fist into the console.

“Hey! Watch it, don't hurt my baby.”

“Sorry, J. I've been banished here by your sister for the time being.”

“Well, at least you get to bask in the radiance of my presence.”

“Yeah, exactly what I needed right now. Talking with a cripple with a Napoleon complex.”

“Wow, going there, are you? What's got your panties all twisted?”

“Panties? What are...you know what, nevermind. And I'm sorry. I went too far on that one. It's just I got some news that's bugging me. I found him, J. And I'm going to take him out, this time.”

“The Doc? That's where we're going right? So, what's got you so pissed?”

“I just want to find the ship and tear it apart. Your sister thinks we need to be cautious and not rush into anything. That's not how I want to do it.”

“I know how you feel, G, I do. But, Rube's right on this one. And don't tell her I just called her that please. From what you told me about this guy, if you go rushing in like you want? He'll kill you. He'll have plan B, C all the way through Z, right? Well, you need to go slow and outsmart him.”

“I know that dammit. That's not the only problem, though. I'm...shit, I don't know what I am.”

“So, the Doc's not the only thing bothering you? Let me guess, one Lieutenant Alenko?”

“Well yes, him. But, I've accepted that. She pretty much told me that she wants to be with him. It's Williams, actually.”

“Her? Really? What'd she say this time? Need me to break my hip at her, for you?”

“Actually, she's the one who found him, really. As a gift to me, for the way she's acted. The thing is, on impulse, I kissed her when she told me. Just on the cheek, but she had this weird look on her face. Like she wanted it and more maybe. It's crazy, isn't it?”

“Wow, so the resident bigot has a thing for aliens, huh? Who would have guessed? So, what about it, Garrus?”

“I don't know. I mean, she's attractive, but her attitude. But then again, she's changed. Maybe? I don't know, J.”

“Well, I'd love to sit around and discuss your pathetic love life. But, we're here. The MSV Fedele just ahead.”


	9. A Turian's Love Chapter 9

The MSV Fedele was drifting aimlessly in the viewscreen as Garrus glared at it. He was up to something. Dr. Saleon knows I'm after him, Garrus thought. He's setting up a trap. He wasn't going to go quietly. Garrus was clicking his mandibles, annoying the rest of the people on the bridge.

“Garrus, buddy, would you kindly knock that the fuck off, please?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry Joker. I'm just anxious to get this going.”

“Yes, we gathered that.” Shepard said looking over her shoulder at him.

“We're receiving a distress call, Commander. It's from the Fedele.” Joker glanced at Shepard, looking confused.

“Patch it through, J” Shepard's posture changed as she prepared for the recording.

“Aye.” Joker manipulated his console and the recording started playing. A high pitched voice sounded scared and panicked.

“This is Dr. Heart of MSV Fedele. They've gone crazy. They're attacking us, killing most of the crew. There's only a couple of us left. Please help!”

“Sounds like his experimenting has caught to him. Can't say I'm finding myself very sympathetic to his plight.”

“We all know how you feel about this man, Garrus.” Liara had walked up behind Garrus, with Ashley Williams in tow. “But, we can't just leave him like this. We have to help, if we can.”

“Liara, are you serious? This is his own doing. His freaks turned on him and he wants somebody else to clean up his mess.”

“We don't know that. We don't what he was doing. He might have stopped his crimes. We can't know for sure.”

“Actually Liara, we can.” Ashley spoke from behind everybody. “According to my contacts in C-Sec, Dr. Saleon has been in the employ of a human separatist group known as Cerberus. I know, don't get me started on the irony. But, Cerberus has been involved in some weird genetic testing. Some really sick shit.”

“Cerberus? Isn't that the group that killed Admiral Kahoku and his men?” Shepard turned to Garrus.

“You're right. I thought that looked familiar. It was the same kind of experiments the doctor was doing on the Citadel. Why didn't I see that at the time?” Garrus answered.

“Alright, here's the plan. We board the ship, take care of the problem, then take Dr. Saleon into custody. No arguments, no going cowboy on me, Garrus. Is that understood?”

“But Shepard...” Garrus stopped at the glare he was receiving from Shepard. “Aye, Commander. I'll follow your orders. But I won't hesitate to shoot, if he shoots first.”

“Fair enough, but please try to shoot to disable, not kill.”

“I make no promises.” Garrus was willing to ask questions first, shoot later, but in the face of being shot at, no way.

“Okay, Ash suit up. You're going with us.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Garrus started making his way to the cargo bay to get his gear. He was eager to board that ship and take down Saleon. He got in the elevator and waited for the doors to close. Right before they closed completely, Ashley scooted by them and stood next to Garrus.

“Hey Garrus.” Ashley looked up at him and smiled.

“Hello, Chief. Hey, thanks for that back there. I really appreciate you having my back. I need this, Ash. I won't be able to finish the mission with this hanging over my head. Especially now that I know where the bastard is.”

“No problem. I know how it is to have unfinished business. Besides, I felt like I owed you for my attitude towards...”

“Ashley, stop.” Garrus sharply turned towards her and grabbed her shoulders. “You have to stop with that. I have forgiven you, Liara's forgiven you. You don't have to keep beating yourself up over it. And you don't need to buy our loyalty. You are a member of the crew and as such, I have your back, always. Understood?”

Ashley's eyes were glistening with tears as she looked into his eyes. Suddenly, she stretched up on her toes and kissed him, hard. Throwing her arms around his neck and pushing him back against the wall of the elevator.

“Mmmphhff!” Garrus resisted the kiss, trying to push her back finding that he couldn't. She was just too strong. After a short and losing struggle, Garrus gave in, kissing her back just as hard and passionate, arms wrapping around her waist. He was moving his hands down to the swells below her waist, when the elevator stopped.

The doors started to open and Ashley stepped back, giving Garus a look that told him that she wanted more, much more. Garrus stared, wide eyed at her.

“Chief?”

“Later.” 

As the doors opened, Garrus looked out and saw Tali standing there waiting for the lift. She looked up, saw Garrus and smiled. Then she looked at Ashley and tilted her head.

“Chief? Are you okay? You look flushed.”

“Never better, Tali.” as she walked out of the lift and towards her locker to gear up.  
'What the hell was that?' Garrus thought, watching Ashley walk away. His mind was working overtime trying to figure out what just happened.

“Um, Garrus? Hello? Rannoch to Garrus. Come in, Garrus.” Tali waved her small hand in his face.

“Huh? Oh, sorry, Tali.” Garrus shook his head and smiled at his friend. “I was preoccupied.”

Looking back towards Ashley and smirking, “Yes, I'm sure you were.”

What? No, we found him, Tali. Dr. Saleon. We found the bastard. We going after him. Now” Garrus strolled to his locker to get his gear, Tali chasing after him. 

“Really? That's great, Garrus. But what are you going to do? Please be careful, Garrus. Don't do anything rash. Don't let this change you.”

“That's exactly what Shepard said, in her own way, of course.” Garrus smiled. “Don't worry, Princess. I promised Shepard that I would defer to her judgement. I make the same promise to you.” Leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

He turned from her and opened his locker. Putting on his armor, Garrus frowned. 'This bastard is going down. I don't care what Shepard or Liara says. They don't understand this guy like I do. He's sick ad won't stop until I stop him. First chance I get, I'm shooting the fucker.'

As he was checking his rifle, he looked over at Ashley. She was getting ready and glanced his way and smiled. Garrus smiled back.

'Okay, Garrus, think about this. Do you really want to pursue this? What about Shepard?' Garrus debated in his mind what to do about Ashley. 'She's attractive, yes. And it's been a long time since you've...'

Garrus shook his head, slamming the clip into his rifle and closed his locker. He needed to focus on the task of bringing Saleon down and ending this long manhunt. He'll deal with Chief Williams later. He turned to see Shepard and Ashley enter the elevator and he followed them.

“Let's get this psycho.” Shepard declared as they arrived at the airlock as the Normandy docked with the Fedele.


	10. A Turian's Love Chapter 10

“Goddamn it, Shepard! It should have been me that pulled the trigger! I can't believe you took that away from me!” Garrus turned to scream in Shepard's face after putting his weapons back in his locker. He was furious. After all the talk about not 'going cowboy' on her, Shepard shot the bastard. It should have been his kill.

They had boarded the Fedele and were immediately attacked by grotesque deformed creatures that vaguely looked human. After killing them all, they caught up to Dr. Saleon, hiding in the crew's quarters. He pretended not to know what was happening and claimed to have never heard of Dr. Saleon. That is until Garrus walked in.

“Officer Vakarian, I was hoping to never see your interfering face again. You caused me a lot of trouble and money on the Citadel. How did you find me?” Saleon glared at Garrus with daggers in his eyes.

“You thought you could get away from C-Sec. And you did. I don't work for C-Sec anymore, Saleon. I have better friends and better contacts. You're not getting away this time. I got you, you sick bastard.”

“Now, Vakarian, let's not be hasty. You want money? I've got plenty. Let's look the other way, for old time's sake. What do you say?” Saleon begged Garrus.

As much as he wanted to just tear this Salarian apart with his bare hands, he had made a promise to both Shepard and Tali to keep his temper. With as much calm as he could muster, Garrus stood up straight and declared, “Dr. Saleon, under the authority of the Citadel Council, you are placed under arrest for crimes against society of a grave and grotesque nature. You will be placed in the brig of the Normandy and transported to the Citadel to await trial.”

“Like hell. Screw this.” Saleon pulled a gun from his back and pointed it at Garrus. Garrus lifted his weapon and aimed. Two shots rang out and Saleon fell to the ground with two holes inbetween his lifeless eyes.

Garrus looked shocked at Saleon's dead body as Shepard put her gun back in it's holster. “Alright, show's over. Everybody back to the Normandy. Joker, send the report to the Council.”

Nobody said a word as they re boarded the Normandy. Garrus was glaring at Shepard's back the entire time. He could sense Ashley looking at him, as if to gauge his mood. His mood? He was furious. They made their way back to the Cargo Bay, with the rest of the crew giving them a wide berth, knowing that something had happened that could change the dynamic of the crew.

They were all putting their gear away, when Shepard approached Garrus. “Garrus, let me explain?”

“What was that? What the fuck happened to taking him into custody?” Garrus exclaimed.

“He was going to kill you, Garrus. Would you have rather I let him?”

“Bullshit! I had the shot, I would’ve taken him. It was my shot, my collar. Goddammit, this is unacceptable.” Garrus was right up in Shepard's face. “Why? Why did you do this to me?”

“You hesitated, Garrus. You had the shot, but you didn't take it. I had no choice.”  
“I hesitated because of what you made me promise, dammit. You asked me, no you fucking ordered me to not kill him. Then you go and kill him instead of letting me do it. I will never forgive you for this, Shepard.”

“Garrus, I know you're angry. I'd be angry, too.”

“Angry? You think I'm angry? I'm way past angry, Shepard. I'm fucking pissed! You betrayed me, Shepard.” Garrus took a step towards Shepard, bumping her back a couple of feet.

Shepard stumbled and almost fell. Wrex stepped out of the shadows he was watching the exchanged and grabbed Garrus.

“C-Sec, you better back off. I don't want to have to put you down.” 

Garrus whipped around and threw Wrex's hand off his shoulder. “Get your hands off me, Wrex. This is not your fight. Don't you have a bounty to collect somewhere? Isn't that what you care about? Money?”

“If I didn't know how pissed you are and how justified you are, I'd kill you were you stand for that, Garrus.”

Garrus looked at Wrex and stepped back. Wrex using Garrus's name was sign that he was being sincere. Garrus turned back to Shepard and saw that she was sorry she did what she did. He started walking away when Shepard called to him.

“Garrus, I truly did what I did to save your life. If I had to do it over again, I'd do the same thing. I wish it would have ended differently and let you get the closure you needed. If you want me to take you off the mission, then I will file a transfer request with C-Sec.”

“No, Shepard. Don't do that, at least not yet. I still want to stop Saren, but I need some time to think if we can still work together.”

“Take all the time you need, Garrus. We need you. And I am truly sorry that you feel I betrayed you. Go up and talk to Joker. I know he'll make you feel better. Please?”

Garrus looked at Shepard and simply said, “Aye.”

“G, look man. I know what it feels like to have Ruby step on your toes. It's happening all my life.” Garrus had taken Shepard's advice and went to talk to her brother, his friend.

“She does what she does for the greater good. I know it's hard to hear right now, 'cuz you're pissed at the universe right now, but it's true. I watched the vid, G. He had you dead to rights. If Ruby hadn't taken the shot, I'd be down one friend, and I don't have enough to spare.”

Garrus sighed. “I know you're right, J, but it doesn't make me feel any better. It should have been my kill. I'd been chasing that guy for years. I feel cheated, like my life will never be complete because of this. I'm finding it very hard to forgive her. I don't know if I ever will.”

“Give it time, man. It's fresh now, too tender. Forgivness will come. Just don't leave the mission, G. This fight is gonna be tough enough with you here, it'll be impossible without you.”

“I'm not going to leave, J. I just need to stay away from Shepard for awhile. Time to think. Clear my head. Thanks for the talk. I'm going to take a nap, if I can.”

Garrus left the bridge and made his way to his bunk. His mind spinning, thinking again about what happened on that ship and his anger and feeling of betrayal towards Shepard. He punched the button to open his room and stepped in. There, in his room was something that chased all thoughts of Dr. Saleon and Ruby Shepard from his mind completely.

Chief Ashley Williams was on his bed, completely naked.

“Hey.” Ashley smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

Garrus glanced up and down, taking in the nude form of the woman kneeling on his bed.  She was running her hands up and down her body seductively.  He subconsciously clicked his mandibles as she cupped her breasts.

"Chief?  What's going on here?"

"What does it look like, Garrus? You seemed stressed about the whole Saleon deal. So I thought that you and I could… you know?  Relieve some stress."

Garrus's mandibles clicked again as he nervously tried to look anywhere but at Ashley's heaving breasts.  He was tempted, but knew that it would end badly for both of them.

"Ashley, I don't think you should be here, especially like this."

"What do you mean, especially like this?  What's wrong with me, then?  Am I not attractive? And what about that kiss in the elevator?  What was that?"  Ashley's confidence seemed to melt almost immediately.  Her posture shrank and she covered her body with her arms, looking down at the floor.

"No, Ash, no.  It's not that.  You are very attractive.  It's just that..."

"Just what, Garrus?"

"I just don't think this is a good idea.  And the kiss?  I seem to remember you kissing me, I certainly didn't initiate it.  I think you should leave and save ourselves further embarrassment."   Finally, Garrus was able to tear his gaze away from Ashley's nude form and turned toward the door.

"Are you fucking kidding me?  'Further embarrassment?'  You son of a bitch!"

Garrus ducked as the clock from his bedside table smashed against the wall next to his head.

"Chief, I suggest you leave now, before I'm forced to report this."

"It's that slut Shepard, isn't it?  I've seen the way you look at her.  I've seen her too.  Snuggling up to Alenko, flirting with you and not to mention those mind melds with Liara. That bitch is using all of you.  I can't believe that you..."   Ashley collapsed on the bed in tears.

"Ashley?  Are you okay?"  Garrus had turned around when she let out a loud sob.  He went to bed instinctively and put a hand on her shoulder.

Ashley jerked away from him.  "Get the fuck away from me, Vakarian.  All you aliens are the fucking same.  Now if you don't mind, can I get dressed?"

Ashley stood up, eyes red from crying, gathered her uniform and walked to the shower station and closed the door.

Garrus stared at the door incredulously.  "What in the name of Palavan just happened?"  He turned around and started picking up the pieces of his clock and other things Ashley had thrown at him during her tirade.  He ran the events in his head trying to sort out what happened.  What could he have done differently? Did he lead her on?  Was she just crazy?  Should he report this?  And the things she said about Shepard, was she jealous of the Commander?  Or was she right?  

Was Shepard toying with his emotions?  No, there was just harmless flirting, soldier banter, nothing more.  Yes, he was still mad at her for not letting him take care of Saleon himself, but not mad enough to betray her.

Just then, the shower door opened and Ashley walked out, dressed and face cleaned, looking pissed and embarrassed. 

"So are you going to be telling the crew how you shut the racist bitch down and left her naked and crying on your bed?  Or can we forget this ever happened and just go on with our lives?"

"Ashley, no one ever has to know that this happened.  I am truly sorry if I led you on.  But you might want to lay off that stuff about Shepard.  She is your commanding officer, after all."

"I know that, Vakarian.  I am fully aware of the chain of command.  My family has been reminded time and time again, that we will never amount to anything even remotely close to being in charge of even a freighter in the Alliance. Just stay away from me, Garrus.  Please. For both our sakes."  Ashley had been strong when her speech started but slowly lost steam and her voice was barely above a whisper when she finished.

With that, Ashley blew past Garrus, out the door and disappeared in the hallway.  He sadly watched her go and knew that he had probably lost a good friend.  He knew that he promised Ashley that he would forget that what had happened, but he had to know if there was something he could have done differently.  He had to talk to someone.  Someone he could trust not to say anything to anybody.

"She was naked?  On your bed?"

"Shh, Tali.  Not so loud."  Garrus nervously looked around, trying to see if anybody heard.

"Oh, relax, Garrus.  We're in Engineering, you have to shout pretty loud for anyone to over hear us.  Watch."  She looked over to Chief Engineer Adams, standing fifteen yards away, and spoke in a normal voice.  "Hey Greg, you look so hot in that jumpsuit.  It makes me want to risk an infection and run my bare hands up and down your body."

"Tali!  What are you doing?"

"See, Garrus, nothing."  Tali smugly turned back to Garrus and struck a ta-da pose.  "So, back to Chief Williams naked on your bed.  So what happened?"

"Nothing, well not nothing, but not what you think.  I told her to get dressed and leave.  She did not take it well."

"No, I imagine she didn't. You know Garrus, women don't take it well when we are rejected like that.  All vulnerable and exposed."

"So, what should I have done?  Gone through with it?"

"No, from what you've told me, you're not interested in her that way.  If you had done 'it' it would have been worse.  Plus your feelings for Commander Shepard."

Garrus sighed and rubbed his head stalks.  "So, what do I do now, Tali?"

"Nothing.  You do nothing.  Just concentrate on the mission.  Stopping Saren is the most important thing.  Chief Williams is a strong woman.  She'll get over it.  Just steer clear of her for awhile."  Tali reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder.  "You did nothing wrong, Garrus.  We haven't known each other that long, but I can already tell that you wouldn't do anything like this maliciously.  Signals got crossed, that's all."

"What signals might those be?"  Shepard walked up from behind them.

"Signals?  Um, was just looking over some old reports from C-Sec and saw some clues of what Saleon was up to that I missed.  That's all."  Garrus quickly lied.

"Oh, well, immaterial, considering that the sick bastard is now dead.  Again, Garrus, I am sorry about Saleon."

"No, Shepard, I'm sorry.  Tali showed me the footage.  You're right, he had me dead to rights.  You had no choice.  Thank you for saving my life.."

"Anytime, Vakarian. Anytime."  Shepard said with a small smile.  "Now, care to explain why Williams put in for a transfer?  When I asked her, she told me to ask you."

"Um, well we had a sort of disagreement and it got pretty heated.  I don't think it would be appropriate to discuss the details at this time."

"Well, anyway, it will have to wait.  We just got word from Admiral Hackett that a Salarian STG group has located Saren at a facility on Virmire.  We need to get there as soon as possible.  This may be our chance to end this once and for all."

Garrus and Shepard turned to leave Engineering and head to the bridge.  As the doors were closing behind them, Garrus heard Chief Adams.

"Excuse me, Tali.   But what were you saying about my jumpsuit?"


	12. Chapter 12

According to the STG group, Saren's base was located in the middle of a lush jungle.  The only way to reach the camp was for a ground team to go in the Mako and shut down the AA guns, so the Normandy could make a landing.  After a long fight with a Geth Colossus, they made it to the camp where Captain Kirrahe and his STG team were holed up.  

Kirrahe informed them that Saren was there and he was working on a cure for the Krogan genophage.  Everyone agreed that Saren needed to be stopped.  Everyone, except Wrex.  Garrus could see his point, the genophage was wiping the krogan out and a cure needed to be found. Except that Saren would use it for his own means, and not for the good of the krogan.  Wrex disagreed with that assessment and angrily walked down the beach.

"Shepard, what are we going to do with Wrex?  As much as I hate to say it, he could be a problem."

"You're right, Garrus.  I'll go talk to him.  But, could you, um, find a spot further down the beach and keep an eye out, in case I can't get through to him?  I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that."

"Of course, say no more. Hopefully, he'll listen to reason, but he is  Krogan, so who knows."

Garrus and Shepard made their way to the opposite ends of the beach.  Shepard towards Wrex, who was now firing his shotgun into the water, killing the fish.  Garrus towards the treeline to set up his sniper nest.  He rested his rifle into a notch where two branches met and looked through the scope and located Wrex and Shepard.  The comms were activated so Garrus could listen in to the conversation to determine if it was going well, or going south.

"This is wrong, Shepard.  These are my people. And if we're going to do this, I need to make sure we're doing it for the right reasons."

At that, Wrex raised his weapon and trained it at Shepard's chest.  Shepard had done the same.  Garrus tensed and trained his cross hair on Wrex's forehead.

"Come on, Wrex.  Don't make me do this.  Listen to Shepard."  Garrus muttered.

"Think about it, Wrex.  Saren's not doing this to uplift the krogan.   He'll turn them into his slaves.  Then he'll discard them after his plans are done.  Is that what you want for your people?"  Shepard had lowered her weapon, in a sign of trust.

Long, tense seconds passed.  Garrus was sweating, he slowly put his finger on the trigger of his weapon, ready to fire if he needed to.

"Wrex, don't do it, buddy.  Please."

"Wrex, do you trust me?"  Shepard had said, raising her hands in a slight sign of surrender.

Seconds felt like minutes.  Finally, Wrex lowered his shotgun.

"No, the krogan have suffered long enough. I won't see the Krogan as slaves to that asshole.  And I trust you enough to see this through."

Everybody relaxed as the scene played out in front of them.  Garrus lowered his rifle and let out a huge breath, thankful that he didn't have to execute his friend.

"Just one thing, Shepard.  When we do find Saren?  I want his fucking head."

Garrus made his way back to the group, approaching Shepard.  They gave a nod to each other, relaying their deep gratitude of what just happened.  Garrus passed Shepard and walked up to Wrex, slapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Glad I didn't have to kill you, Bounty Hunter.  Would have hated to have to domesticate another mercenary."

"I would have blasted a hole right through her chest before you even put a claw on that trigger."

"It was already there, Wrex.  Already there."    Garrus was already walking away back towards the group.

"Heh heh, I always knew you had a set of quads the size of pyjacks, C-Sec."  

Garrus smiled.  Everything with Wrex was back to normal and they could concentrate on the mission.

"I hope you got that krogan under control, Commander."  Captain Kirrahe was explaining the battle plan to his team when Shepard and Garrus approached him.

"Don't worry about Wrex, Captain.  He's with us."

"Good, now here's the plan."

Kirrahe explained that two teams were needed to get to Saren, a distraction team and the infiltration team.  Shepard would lead the infiltration team and Kirrahe would lead the distraction team.  He requested that the Normandy crew be split up and some go with him.  Both Alenko and Williams volunteered for the distraction team. In the end, Shepard chose Williams.

"Chief, take Garrus and Tali.  Wrex and Kaidan are with me."

Garrus and Ashley glanced at each other and winced.

"Commander, I don't think that would be a good id..."

"Stuff it.  Whatever is going on between you two, just stuff it.  Complete the mission, work it out later.  Understood.?"

"Aye, Commander."  They said together.

Ashley walked off to get her gear ready.  Garrus stayed behind so he could talk to Shepard alone.

"Shepard, are you sure about this?"

"Garrus, I don't know what happened, and right now we don't have time to sort it out.  But I need you two on this.  I know she can be a pain in the ass, but she's a damn good soldier and I would hate to lose her.  So you two need to suck it up and work together."

With that, Shepard left to join her team.  Garrus watched her leave, then turned to join the distraction team.  He approached Ashley as she was putting clips into her belt.

"Are we going to be okay, Chief?"

"Just stay out of my way, Vakarian and follow your orders and we'll be just fine."  She didn't even look up at him as she popped a clip into her weapon. Captain Kirrahe called for everyone's attention and he started his pre-battle speech.

Garrus was listening as he looked around the beach and then up at the massive base they were about to attack.  Their part of the mission was most likely suicide, but hopefully they would make it, with the help of Shepard's team.  He also hoped that somewhere along the way, he and Ashley could find some common ground and get along.

"We must Hold the Line!"  Captain Kirrahe finished his speech.  Last minute instructions were handed out and finally they were ready.

The battle was long and brutal.  Geth troopers and Krogan battlemasters, aided by security drones and turrets, came at them from all sides.  They were aided by Shepard's team as they made their way throughout the base.  The distraction team finally made it to their predetermined location and settled down for the stand-off.  Garrus thought everything was going according to plan when it happened.

Garrus should have seen it coming.  It was a classic turian tactic, and Saren had pulled it off flawlessly.   He sent out just a fraction of his forces, but held back the bulk of them, waiting for that moment when the two teams were the furthest apart.  Then he sent the whole gambit down on them.  They were pinned down and would be unable to reach the rendezvous point in time.

"Chief, call Shepard, tell her what’s going on."  Yelled Garrus.

"Right.  Williams to Shepard.  We're pinned down.  We need an extraction."

"We're in the same situation here, Ash.  We haven't even set up the bomb yet."

"We're not going to make it to the rendezvous point in time, Shepard."

"Roger that.  I'm heading your way."

Garrus looked up and saw a new wave of Geth and Krogan pouring out from the hallways.  He turned to get Ashley's attention.

"Ashley, look."   Ashley turned and shook her head at Garrus.

"We're not going to survive this, are we?"

Garrus shook his head as well.

"Okay, fine.  Shepard, it's too late for us.  Stay with the bomb.  We're good here."

"Screw that, I'm coming."

"Negative, Commander.  Complete the mission. sort out the rest later, right?"

"Dammit, Ash.  I hate this shit.  I'm sorry."

Ashley looked over at Garrus and gave a sad smile.  "I know, sir.  We all knew this was a possibility.  Just do us one favor."

"Name it."

"Rip off that fucker's balls, for us, sir."

"Affirmative, Chief.  And Ash?  Tell Garrus and Tali that..."

"They know, Shepard.  Now, finish up with that bomb and get the hell out of here."

Ashley closed the comms and got back to the fight.

"Well, Garrus, it looks like we don't get to work out our differences this time."

"Guess so, Chief."  They smiled at each other.

Garrus turned and started making his way towards Tali.  He ducked behind cover after cover, watching the salarians efficiently taking out the geth.  He raised up and fired two rounds, seeing a geth and a krogan fall.  He made it to the wall Tali was ducking behind.

"How are you holding up, Princess?"

"How do you think, you bosh t'et?  Oh, I'm just great.  I'm stuck behind this wall with Geth and Krogan trying to blast my head off.  This jungle is wreaking havoc on my enviro suit and I'm most likely swimming in every bacteria this planet has to offer.  And we are going to die here, aren't we?"  Tali finished her rant and sent out one of her drones to take down a group of geth twenty yards away.

"Unfortunately, it looks that way.  We're pinned down and Shepard's team is the priority.  Sorry you got involved, Tali?"

"Not in the least.  I knew as soon as I caught that transmission that Saren needed to be stopped.  Well, if I'm going to die, I'm glad I'm with a friend, like you, Garrus."

"We are not dead yet, Tali 'Zorrah.  I'm sure that salarian still has a few tricks up his sleeve."

"Your assessment would be correct, Officer Vakarian."  Captain Kirrahe squatted down beside them.  "We brought along a biobomb and an EMP pulse-bomb. They should take care of these troops."

"And why haven't we used them yet, Captain?"

"We were saving them, in the event that something like this occurred."

"See, Princess?  I knew this guy would come through.  You just might live long enough to see Rannoch, yet."  Garrus gave a smile to Tali.

The salarians worked quickly to connect the two devices so they would detonate at the same  time.  Garrus, Tali and Ashley provided cover for them as they worked.  Kirrahe addressed the group.

"Be prepared for anything.  These explosives have never been used together.  We are unsure what the results would be.  Make sure you stay behind the shield."

The team huddled behind the shield, bracing  for the explosion.  Kirrahe pressed the remote to detonate the bombs.  The results were spectacular.

Everybody watched as Geth crumpled to the ground and the flesh melt from the Krogans' bodies.  The only people left standing on the battlefield was the small distraction team.

"Thank the gods."  Garrus sighed.  He looked at the group as they patted each other on the back.  Ashley had stood p and shook Kirrahe's hand.  Garrus turned and grabbed Tali in a hug bear hug.

"Tali, we did it."

Everybody was celebrating the victory  and didn't notice the aftershocks from the explosion were cracking the walls around them.  Garrus and Tali did not see the giant piece of stone threatening to fall on top of them.  However, Ashley did.

"Garrus, Tali, MOVE!  GET OUT OF THE WAY!!"

Garrus saw Ashley running towards them, pointing up.  He looked up and saw the stone start to fall.  He tried to push Tali out of the way, but she stumbled and fell.  Garrus reached down to pick her up, but it would be too late.  They were going to be crushed.

Ashley reached them and gave them both a giant shove that knocked them backwards.  That shove was enough to get them out of harm's way, but Ashley was not so lucky.

The large piece of stone fell on top of Ashley, crushing her legs and midsection.  She lay motionless as Garrus got to his feet.

"Chief!"  Garrus ran to the stone and tried to lift it off of Ashley.  It was too heavy. 

"Williams?  Ashley, can you hear me?"  Tali had made her way over and tried to help Garrus lift the stone.

"Ash?  Come on, Ash, respond!"

"She's gone, Garrus."  Tali had stopped trying to lift the rock and placed a hand on Garrus.

"No, I refuse to accept that.  On your feet, soldier!  That's an order!"

Ashley's eyed popped open, scanning her vision, but unfocused.

"Gah!" Tali screamed as she stumbled back.

"Garrus?"  Ashley's voice was weak and strained as she spoke.

"Yes, Ash.  I'm here."

"Didn't I tell you to stay out of my way?"  Ashley winced as she tried to smile.  Garrus saw her smile filled with blood.

"Yes.  Yes, you did.  Guess I'm not as good at following orders as I thought."  Garrus looked over her injuries.  She wasn't going to make it.

"Is Tali okay? Did she get out of the way?"  Ashley tried moving her head around to find Tali, but Garrus kept a firm hold, to keep her head still.

"Yes, I did.  You saved me.  You saved both of us."  

"Good, then it wasn't a completely stupid move."

Ashley's breathing was becoming more erratic.  She was dying.

"Garrus, I'm sorry."

"I know, Ash.  Me too."

"Tell everybody that I'm sorry."  With that, Ashley closed her eyes for the final time.

Garrus slowly lowered her head until it was resting on the ground.  Tali was sobbing uncontrollably.  Garrus stared at the ground for a full minute, then lifted his head with a deep sigh.  He turned to look at the salarians.  They were watching silently.  Garrus stood up and turned on his comm unit.

"Garrus to Normandy.  Are you there?"  

"This is Normandy.  G!  Thank God, you're alive.  We're already headed to your location.  Hold tight.  I'm glad we actually have someone to pick up."

"It's good to hear your voice, J.  Oh, and Jeff.  Tell Shepard that Chief Ashley Williams has fallen in the line of duty."


	13. Chapter 13

"Did we at least stop Saren?” Garrus asked Shepard. They were in the Med-Bay, Dr. Chakwas was making sure that Garrus and Tali were okay. Captain Kirrahe and the STG group had just left, given a full bill of health.

"No, unfortunately, he got away."

"Then Ashley died in vain, then? Fuck it all!"

"Not necessarily in vain, Garrus. We discovered that Saren isn't the mastermind. He's a pawn, just like the Geth. His ship? Sovereign? It's actually an ancient sentient machine known as a Reaper. I, uh, talked to it."

"Talked to it? What do you mean?" Garrus stared wide eyed at Shepard.

"We had a conversation. We threatened each other, told each other we were going to make each other extinct."

"So, just another Shepard-ish talk, huh?"

"Yeah, looks like it." Shepard smiled, then her expression changed. With sad eyes, she looked up at Garrus.

"I feel guilty about Ashley. I hate losing anybody under my command, but this one really hurts. I know she wasn't the most popular person on board. Hell's Bells, I didn't even like her at times. But she was improving, making an effort to be, I don't know, friendlier."

Garrus turned away, remembering the vile things that Ashley said about Shepard in his quarters. "If only she knew." He thought.

"What?" Shepard reached out to turn his head to face her.

"Nothing. Just anxious to get out of here and get back to the mission." He didn't want Ashley to be remembered for the words she said in anger and rejection. She was a damn good soldier and she saved his and Tali's lives. She was flawed, yes. She didn't trust Turians as a people. Considering her family's history, he really couldn't blame her, he supposed.

"Garrus? Where did you go just then?"

"Sorry, Shepard. Just remembering the last conversation with Ashley and wishing it would have gone better."

“Does it have anything to do with her transfer request? What happened there?" Shepard looked at him with concern.

"It doesn't matter now, does it? Can the matter be dropped?"

"Of course. It never happened. If that's what you want, Garrus."

"Yes. So, what's our next step?"

"Not quite sure yet. But Liara wants to try another joining. There was another beacon on Virmire and I got more of the vision downloaded in my head. Hopefully, she can help make sense of it all. We were waiting for you to get checked out."

Garrus looked at Chakwas, who started to put away her instruments. "What's the verdict, Doc?"

"Well, apart from from exhaustion and a few cuts, scrapes and bruises? I believe, you are going to be just fine, Garrus. And Tali, your suit was compromised and you have an infection. However, I was able to flush them out and you should be fine after a few days."

"Thank you, Doctor. Okay, well you two get cleaned up and head to the Communications Room, asap. After a brief moment of silence for Chief Williams, we need to discuss our next steps." Shepard turned and walked out of the Med-Bay.

"Garrus? Would you walk with me to my quarters?"

"Of course, Tali. You feeling alright?"

"Actually, I'm tired and swimming in antibiotics, that's got me drained. And frankly, I just need a friend right now."

"Absolutely, Princess. Lead the way." Garrus bent his arm and Tali slidd her arm in his and rested her head against his shoulder as they walked out of the Med-Bay. They walked in silence past the mess hall and towards the living quarters. Garrus thought of Ashley, her sacrifice, her attitude towards non-humans and trying to make sense of it all.

"Why did she do it, Garrus?" Tali whispered as she rested her head on Garrus's shoulder.

"I guess because she was a soldier and we were her team."

"So, what do we do now? Honor her? Forget her? She didn't make it easy, you know."

"I know. We remember her. Who she was, her strengths, her weaknesses. And then we move on. Really, that's all we can do."

They stopped in front of Tali's door. Garrus pulled her in for a hug.

"Okay, you got ten minutes. You going to be okay, Princess?"

"I will be. Thank you, Garrus."

Tali stepped into her room and closed the door, leaving Garrus alone in the hallway. He was glad he was, so no one could see the tear falling down his cheek.

"I will be, too. Eventually." He said to himself.

Garrus had showered and made it to the briefing room when Tali walked in behind him and slipped her hand into his as she took her place beside him and gave it a small squeeze. He smiled down at her as he heard the doors open and watched Shepard walk in with Alenko's arm around her waist. He felt heat and anger rush up his neck and his stalks tingled. He cursed inwardly.

_ "Dammit."  _ It shouldn't bother him to see it, but it did.

The briefing started, with Shepard leading a moment of silence for Ashley. Garrus felt Tali move in closer and heard soft sobs from her. After the moment, there was more discussion of what to do next. Liara suggested another mind meld after Shepard told of her encounter with Soveriegn. Garrus watched as Liara and Shepard almost lifted off the ground as a blue biotic shield engulfed them. It always made him nervous when they did this. He looked around the room and noticed Alenko watching intently. Garrus saw anger and jealousy on the man's face. At least, he thought that it was jealousy. He was still having trouble reading human body language.

"Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos. I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

After much discussion, the crew left the briefing room to prepare for Ilos. Tali was still holding Garrus's hand and leaning against them as they were leaving. Garrus saw Liara and Shepard talking when Alenko approached them.

"Doctor T'Soni, Commander, we need to talk. About...this. Ruby, I wasn't aware that you were a les....that you were into other women."

Garrus gave Tali a gentle push. "And that, Princess, would be our cue. Let's get out of here, before bulkheads start flying around."


End file.
